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Echo Malibu Featured on Nickelodeon's "Nick News: Kids in Rehab" Echo Malibu’s substance abuse treatment program for adolescents was featured on a special episode of “Nick News with Linda Ellerbee” called “Kids in Rehab.” In a show that aired on October 18, 2009, Pat, a teenage boy from Maryland, described his stay in rehab at Echo Malibu. He explained, “At Echo, they don’t tell you to stop doing drugs; they get to the heart of the problem.” Although he was “tricked” by his parents into entering rehab, during his stay he realized that doing drugs was a symptom of a deeper problem. Dr. Jeff Nalin, a clinical psychologist at Echo Malibu, described the drug rehab program’s approach as “empowerment based.” Offering yoga, acupuncture, massage, art therapy and other innovative therapies, the staff teaches teens how to connect with their bodies, identify their emotions and start communicating what’s happening on the inside to the outside world. Finding less need to use when he was relaxed and able to express his feelings, Pat discovered that he was using drugs and alcohol because he felt insecure, isolated and angry. He had started using alcohol in sixth grade and later graduated to prescription drugs and cough medicine. Eventually, he said, the drugs took over his life. Although many teens enter rehab thinking they use drugs just to have fun, Dr. Nalin has found that most patients use to cope with difficult feelings. “They don’t see themselves accurately,” he told Nick News. “We see talented and interesting people; they see themselves as a piece of dirt.” Because Echo Malibu uses a wide range of alternative and holistic therapies, Pat says some people may mistakenly believe rehab is a 30-day vacation or health spa. He is quick to clarify: “It’s some of the hardest work I’ve ever had to do to figure out why I’m using drugs. … My parents saved me by tricking me into rehab at Echo. If I didn’t come here, I would’ve been dead.” When he completes his stay in rehab and returns home, Pat says he plans to change schools and create an environment that will help him stay clean using the tools he gained at Echo Malibu. To watch “Kids in Rehab,” visit: | |